Meet The Breakfast Banh Mi

While a classic breakfast sandwich might be a simple egg-and-cheese, we’re of the belief that any sandwich can be breakfast-ified. So we’re a big fan of the Breakfast Banh Mi, from chef Braden Wages of Malai Kitchen in Dallas.

Wages’s version was inspired by a trip to Hanoi he took in 2012. “We had the most amazing, yet simple, egg banh mi for breakfast while strolling the streets. It was cooked on a cart, and the combination of ribbon-cut cucumbers, sriracha, lacey fried egg, and perfect bread made it memorably satisfying.”

The bread: Banh mi require delicate Vietnamese baguettes, and chef Wages relies on the experts. “Our bread comes from a local Vietnamese bakery, Quoc Bao. We pick up our order early each morning. Despite years of trying, I haven’t been able to come close to achieving the glassy, crispy crust and airy light interior of the bread at Quoc Bao.”

The filling: Like a ham and egg sandwich but better: Wages layers sliced ham, fried egg, and cucumbers, given a little heat with spicy aioli and housemade sriracha sauce, with cilantro and Thai basil to finish it off.